Will legume-insect specificity break down as the climate changes?

Granivores are among the most troublesome consumers of commercial crops, but they are also some of the best and most effective candidates for biological control agents of exotic and invasive plants. It is important to understand how they might behave in future climate conditions so that we can predict how they host range with change, how they might break out of their current specific niches, how their geographical extent might reach into new areas, and how their populations could be controlled by their natural enemies such as parasitoid wasps. This thesis is a valuable community-wide survey of plant-insect interactions, centered on the insect cohort of south-east Australian legumes, a family of plants that is commercially and ecologically important. By using a distance-for-time design across the elevation gradient of the Blue Mountains, this work has laid out the insects that can be found in the legumes of this region, their niches in the community, the different configurations the communities take under different climate conditions, and the different seasonal host use responses of weevils, wasps, and moths under those conditions. This thesis is an informative foothold for future researchers who want to use legumes to study community-level plant-insect associations, the processes that form them, and what makes them break down. The information shared herein provides new model inputs to improve future models of insect expansion and host choice, and suggestions of further work that might build on its findings and strengthen them. I hope that this work contributes to a generalised understanding of insects’ response to climate change

Asymptotic and numerical analysis of a simple model for blade coating

Motivated by the industrial process of blade coating, the two-dimensional flow of a thin film of Newtonian fluid on a horizontal substrate moving parallel to itself with constant speed under a fixed blade of finite length in which the flows upstream and downstream of the blade are coupled via the flow under the blade is analysed. A combination of asymptotic and numerical methods is used to investigate the number and nature of the steady solutions that exist. Specially, it is found that in the presence of gravity there is always at least one, and (depending on the parameter values) possibly as many as three, steady solutions, and that when multiple solutions occur they are identical under and downstream of the blade, but differ upstream of it. The stability of these solutions is investigated, and their asymptotic behaviour in the limits of large and small flux and weak and strong gravity effects, respectively, determined

Visual acuity and olfatory sensitivity in the swordfish (Xiphias gladius) for the detection of prey during field experiments using the surface longline gear with different bait types

During a total of 20 sets carried out on board a surface longliner, the different degrees of effectiveness obtained in the capture of swordfish were evaluated using 5 different bait types (natural, artificial and mixed). The results point to substantial and significant differences in the CPUEs obtained among the different bait types tested to catch swordfish. However, the results show few mean differences that were not statistically significant between the CPUEs obtained using natural bait (control) or mixed bait consisting of artificial bait on the outside -which in itself was of null effectiveness- into which was inserted a piece of natural bait, concealed from view. Both types of bait (control and mixed) were effective in the capture of swordfish despite the differences in constitution and properties. On the basis of these results, it is possible to make an indirect assessment of the importance of visual and odor stimuli in the swordfish to detect and carry out the final attack on its prey. Odor was found to be the key element in this process

Chrysin-Loaded Microemulsion: Formulation Design, Evaluation and Antihyperalgesic Activity in Mice

Chrysin is a bioactive flavonoid found in pollens, passion flowers, honey, royal jelly, and propolis, which is commonly used as an ingredient in natural food supplements and is primarily re-sponsible for their pharmacological properties. A transparent chrysin-loaded microemulsion (CS-ME) prepared through a ternary phase diagram was evaluated for use as an antihyperalgesic formulation. It was formulated with 40% Labrasol\uae (surfactant), 5% isopropyl myristate (oil phase) and 55% water (aqueous phase) and classified as an oil-in-water (O/W) microsized system (74.4 \ub1 15.8 nm). Its negative Zeta potential ( 1216.1 \ub1 1.9 mV) was confirmed by polarized light microscopy and dynamic light scattering analysis. In vitro studies in Franz-type static diffusion cells showed that chrysin release from CS-ME followed zero-order kinetics. Oral administration of CS-ME in mice resulted in a statistically significantly reduction (p < 0.05) in carrageenan-induced mechanical hyperalgesia compared to the control group. Treatment with CS-ME also showed anti-inflammatory activity by significantly decreasing the TNF-\u3b1 level (p < 0.01) and increasing that of IL-10 (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. These results suggest that the proposed microsystem is a promising vector for the release of chrysin, being able to improve its capacity to modulate inflammatory and nociceptive responses

Feasibility Studies for Single Transverse-Spin Asymmetry Measurements at a Fixed-Target Experiment Using the LHC Proton and Lead Beams (AFTER@LHC)

The measurement of Single Transverse-Spin Asymmetries, A_N, for various quarkonium states and Drell–Yan lepton pairs can shed light on the orbital angular momentum of quarks and gluons, a fundamental ingredient of the proton-spin puzzle. The AFTER@LHC proposal combines a unique kinematic coverage and large luminosities thanks to the Large Hadron Collider beams to deliver precise measurements, complementary to the knowledge provided by collider experiments such as at RHIC. In this paper, we report on sensitivity studies for J/ ψ, Υ and Drell–Yan A_N done using the performance of LHCb-like or ALICE-like detectors, combined with polarised gaseous hydrogen and helium-3 targets. In particular, such analyses will provide us with new insights and knowledge about transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions for quarks and gluons and on twist-3 collinear matrix elements in the proton and the neutron

Antinociceptive effect of the ethanolic extract of Amburana cearensis (Allemão) A.C. Sm., Fabaceae, in rodents.

Efeito antinociceptivo do extrato etanólico de Amburana cearensis (Allemão) A.C. Sm., Fabaceae, em roedores

HPLC-DAD analysis, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of the ethanolic extract of Hyptis umbrosa in mice

Hyptis umbrosa (syn. Mesosphaerum sidifolium) (Lamiaceae Family) has been used to treat several conditions such as gastrointestinal disorders, skin infections, nasal congestion, fever and cramps. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, analgesic and anti-inflammatory profiles of ethanol extract from leaves of Hyptis umbrosa (EEB). HPLC-DAD was used to determine the fingerprint chromatogram of the extract. Male Swiss mice were orally pretreated with EEB (100, 200 or 400 mg/kg; 60 min before initiating algesic stimulation) and antinociceptive activity was assessed using the acetic acid-induced writhing model, formalin test and hyperalgesia induced by glutamate or capsaicin. Also, peritonitis was induced by the intrathoracic injection of carrageenan to quantify the total number of leukocytes. The presence of phenolic compounds in the extract was confirmed using HPLC-DAD. The treatment with EEB, at all doses, produced a significant analgesic effect against acetic acid-induced antinociceptive activity. In the formalin test, only the 400-mg/kg-dose of EEB had a significant effect in the first phase. However, all doses tested were able to reverse nociception in the second phase. The effect of all doses of EEB also showed a significant antinociceptive effect in the glutamate and capsaicin tests and inhibited the carrageenan-induced leukocyte migration to the peritoneal cavity. The present study suggests that the EEB possesses peripheral analgesic action and showed potential in reducing the spreading of the inflammatory processes. Also, it seems to be related with vanilloid and glutamate receptors